Vaghinak Bekaryan's novella "The False Bride" is a domestic drama based on life in a Western Armenian village, vividly and realistically portraying everyday life and human relationships. A peasant named Zatik is married to an underage girl who runs away from her husband a few days later and never returns. After waiting for a long time and losing hope that his wife will come back, Zatik remarries without the Church's permission, defying the prejudices and social norms of his time. Encouraged by the wealthy villagers, the patriarchal village community launches a relentless campaign of persecution against him, which Zatik courageously struggles to withstand. We would like to express our gratitude to Mher Bekaryan for recording this story and for granting permission to make the audio version available free of charge on our website.

Hovhannes Draskhanakerttsi, Catholicos of the Armenians (898–929), was a historian and writer, as well as a relative and disciple of Catholicos Mashtots I Yeghvardetsi (897–898). Two works authored by Hovhannes Draskhanakerttsi have come down to us: “Sharayats Hayrapetatsn Hayots” (“Succession of the Armenian Patriarchs”) and “History of the Armenians”. The History of the Armenians is the more valuable work and is rightly considered one of the finest primary historical sources. It begins with the most ancient legendary times and concludes with the description of events up to the year 924. It is believed that the patrons of Draskhanakerttsi’s work were King Ashot II Bagratuni and King Grigor Artsruni of Vaspurakan.

The Iron Heel is set in the United States in the early twentieth century, mainly around the tense political climate of the 1910s. The book follows the rise of social conflict between the working class and powerful capitalist forces, presented through a memoir discovered in the distant future. It is a dark, thoughtful novel about power, fear, resistance, and the struggle for justice.

Theft was written by Jack London in 1910 and completes the cycle of works on social themes that began with the novels The Iron Heel and Martin Eden. In his first and only play, Jack London showed the moral decay of the ruling power and of the actual masters of the country — the major financial magnates.